


Make This (White) House a Home

by sue_dreams (raegan_1)



Series: February Fic Fest [13]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 14:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5931562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raegan_1/pseuds/sue_dreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every American should visit the White House at some point.  Learn the history.  Maybe meet the President, who will turn around and say, "Conner, I am your father” a la Vader  (Conner has hopes and dreams, okay?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Make This (White) House a Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tallihensia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallihensia/gifts).



> Written for [](http://tallihensia.livejournal.com/profile)[tallihensia](http://tallihensia.livejournal.com/)'s birthday and my little [February Fic Fest](http://sue-dreams.livejournal.com/tag/febff) thing.

President Lex Luthor was serving his second term and had done well in office, to the point where there were comments about changing the restriction on terms. Luthor himself had denied any such thing and had in fact spoken against it; "We all have our time to serve and once my time in office is done, will find another way to continue working for the people of this country. But it will be time for someone else to lead it from this office."

There was almost no chance that Clark and Conner would meet with the Chief of Staff, which Clark had reminded Conner of again and again, but the boy's excitement couldn't be dampened. This was as close to Lex Luthor as the young teen had gotten since finding out that the POTUS was his biological father.

It was the first time Clark had seen Lex since Smallville, two decades before. They'd communicated, of course. It was Lex who had discovereed Conner's existence fourteen years ago and rescued the infant from a lab that had started out under Luthor control before gaining independence after Lionel's death. Occasionally, there would be a phone call, especially after Clark's father, and then his mother, had gone into politics and Lex had eventually fallen into that orbit during his bid for presidency.

There was an awareness of each other that had never disappeared, at least as far as Clark was concerned. He'd spent more time working in politics as a journalist than he'd intended to when he started out in his degree, but he'd been pulled to follow Lex however he was able to, so political reporting it had been.

It was tempting to scan through the walls to see if Lex was even present, but Clark was pulled out of his thoughts by Conner's voice. "My brother knew the president," the teen was telling the tour guide. The other tourists looked on in a mixture of interest and disbelief. Clark could feel his cheeks flushing and he wished he'd thought to bring a hat; anything he could use to hide his face from scrutiny.

"Really?" the bored guide responded. Behind him, one of the security people was eyeing Clark with new suspicion. The tour guide looked at Clark and smirked. "When he was a kid, maybe?"

"Then, too," Conner answered. He ignored Clark's attempts to shush him. "But when he lived in Smallville, Clark saved his life and--" Clark smiled awkwardly as he firmly put his hand over Conner's mouth and ignored the feeling of Conner licking at his hand; sometimes it took physical restraint to stop Conner from just bulldozing ahead. Clark would have brought food in if they'd been allowed, because Conner could be distracted and quieted that way.

"I'm sure your brother didn't make up that story at all," the tour guide said, clearly dismissive of Clark and Conner.

"It's one hundred percent true, if incomplete," a voice announced. “I did return the fabor, though.” There was a sudden stillness as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward the speaker. President Luthor was wearing a simple black suit with a dark purple tie. He was flanked by several members of his security detail. He was staring at Clark. At least, he stared at Clark until his gaze turned to Conner. "Conner Kent, I presume?"

Conner said, "Oh my god," against Clark's hand before Clark thought to let go of him. He said it again a moment later, even louder. "Oh, my god, you're my dad."

Clark put his hand over his face, not even fazed by the residual dampness from Conner's mouth. Lex laughed, a sound Clark had never heard in Smallville and which had never been captured in interviews--Clark had seen them all. He couldn’t resist dropping his hand to see the look that went with the sound. "We should probably take this somewhere less public," Lex said after a moment. He glanced around at their assembled audience. "Welcome to the White House, everyone. Enjoy your tour."

The Secret Service agents who had followed Lex moved to surrounded Clark and Conner as they followed Lex toward the private areas of the White House. Clark was silent, but nodded agreement when Conner whispered again, "Oh my god."

* * *

Clark called his mother that evening after dinner, while Lex attempted to do work at his desk but mostly answered Conner's billion questions with patience and apparent fondness. It was weird, seeing a man who was renowned for his poise and guarded composure so... vulnerable. Clark didn't know if young Lex had been like this, couldn't trust his own memories sometimes, as he'd had more years to fantasize about Lex than actually get to know him.

There was no doubt, however, that Lex was completely open to Conner. The security detail continued to look uncomfortable, which Clark attributed as much to their boss being unusually open as the presence of guests they'd probably had little time to investigate. Clark sat still and tried not to fidget or draw attention to himself or make anyone uncomfortable. Occasionally, Conner would tell a story that involved Clark, and he and Lex would look in Clark's direction and draw him into the warmth of the bond growing between them, but Clark only smiled and let them pick up his slack in the conversation.

It was so good for Conner to have this time with Lex. He had known from a pretty young age that he was adopted; Martha and Jonathon had learned from Clark's reaction that finding out was not a pleasant surprise. And perhaps because he had Clark as an example, Conner had never seemed to question that he had his parents' affection, biologically related or not, so that fear had never been realized.

Finding out about Lex had been interesting. They'd thought about waiting until he was eighteen and some research online seemed to make that seem like the regular thing, but the circumstances of Conner's adoption were different and it had been decided that whenever he asked, whatever he asked, they would try to provide him with the most honest and complete answers they had.

And now Lex was carrying on that tradition, talking about what he had done over the past fourteen years--"Nothing so awesome as being a part of your existence"--and why Lex had left Smallville, what he'd been like as a kid. Eventually, the topic came back to a question the Kents hadn't been able to answer. Whatever Lex knew had never been passed on to them. Clark thought his mother had asked Lex about it, but the mystery had continued.

Lex's smile dimmed at the question. He looked toward his guards, to the woman who seemed in charge of them. They seemed to share silent communication before she sent the others out of the room.

"I told Martha I would share this with you someday. I expected you to be a little older and I don't know how much you know about cloning and such," Lex started. He leaned toward Conner, who leaned close to him, their heads bowed together. Clark had to turn up his hearing to catch what was said. "My father hired people to clone me, but wasn't able to make the process stable. They didn't succeed until after my father died, when another doctor gave them a sample of the Traveller's DNA. The Traveller was... not from around here."

Lex and Conner were both frowning and even Clark could tell that Lex was holding back information, a restraint that didn't seem to sit comfortably for him either.

He continued. "I had to do some digging, because the scientists weren't very forthcoming or knowledgeable about where the sample had come from, but it wasn't from anything born on Earth. I don't know what happened to her, but your mother visited from a planet called Krypton. I don't know how long she was on Earth or what her purpose was-"

"Krypton? But Clark's the only survivor," Conner interrupted with a frown. He looked at Clark with a gaze that seemed suddenly more hazel than blue and the air was sucked out of Clark's lungs, making him unable to answer. "Right, Clark, isn't that what the Fortress said?"

It was a good thing Clark was already sitting, because his body felt weak. Still, Conner had asked him a question and Clark did his best to answer, which in this case was a nod of agreement.

Lex probably made the connection much more quickly, but it took Conner a few minutes, which Clark needed to process in his own way. A glass of water was pushed at Clark and he looked up blankly at the secret service agent. She didn't have a name tag and she'd been pretty stoic up to this point, but the look she was giving Clark in that moment was... softer, at least.

"Thanks," he said, taking the offered glass.

"Being a mom is hard work," she said in return. Clark choked on the water.

"Leave him alone, Mercy," Lex directed, sounding amused. Clark looked up, but Conner was suddenly in front of his face, blocking Clark's view of the rest of the room.

Conner's eyes were wide, his breathing coming quickly, but he didn't seem distressed. "Clark, Clark, you have to say it. Please."

It was on the tip of Clark's tongue to ask, "Say what?" or maybe assure Conner that he hadn't known, hadn't meant to ever keep this a secret, but then Conner's excitement became very clear and Clark was overcame by how much he loved this kid. "Conner." Conner looked ready to pass out, his face was so ruddied. "Conner, I am your... mother?"


End file.
